The Fate Of The Elements
by godonlyknows
Summary: What happens after the Earth King says that the Earth Kingdom has fallen? The gang fights back, that's what! Action, suspense, plot twists, and even a little romance! Rated Teen for possible language andor violence, rating may change.
1. Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams, Aang

**A/N: This is my first fanfic ever! Yay me! This was a short one, but they will be longer in the future, I promise! Do give your opinions and ideas! Hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Airbender or any affiliated characters. I am not gaining any sort of monetary profit from this in any way, shape, or form. If I did have that happy right, I would be sure to let fans know about DATES and when SEASONS come out. hint hint hint**

* * *

"The Earth Kingdom…..has fallen…." The Earth King proclaimed gravely. The four could do nothing but nod their heads in unison. It had been a long day….there was nothing more that they could do.

Sokka commanded Appa to head to the outskirts of Ba Sing Se. Surely there would be some villager who would be happy to take in the Earth King AND the Avatar.

* * *

"Oh! Your highness!" The young girl bowed as she greeted them at the door. "And the Avatar….? What's going on?" Her mother asked suspiciously. 

Sokka sighed as he answered, "If you don't mind, that answer cannot be given until morning." The girl nodded hurriedly as she prepared some hot tea and some temporary beds for their non-royal vistors. "We don't have many beds, I'm afraid," she added apologetically.

Of course, neither Toph or Sokka cared much, and they collapsed into a heap on their individual "beds". Katara tucked Aang in, and provided him with the warmest blankets that the girl had offered. "Sweet dreams, Aang," she said as she walked out the door.

This would be the longest night of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2: Daybreak

**A/N: Again, a somewhat short chapter. Sorry but these first couple chappies are just building up the story, I plan to include some action packed ones soon! Patience, my viewers!"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Airbender or any affiliated characters. I am not gaining any sort of monetary profit from this in any way, shape, or form. If I did have that happy right, I would be sure to let fans know about DATES and when SEASONS come out. hint hint hint**

* * *

Zuko awoke the next morning to find himself in an extravagant bedroom. "It looks like brother Lu-Ten's did," he thought, with an air of sadness.

His thoughts rushed back to the task at hand.

**FLASHBACK  
**Iroh pulled Zuko in a deep embrace as he found his nephew in an underground cave. "Uncle, listen to me. I want to help the Avatar and his friends in some way. I want to-" His words were cut off by the suspicious glare of Aang, whose intense gaze was burning even Zuko, a firebender par excellence. The idea had hit him just then. "Uncle, let me act as a double agent…"  
**END FLASHBACK  
**Zuko could not help but give a dry chuckle. "Uncle's right. I never do think these things through."

* * *

"Thank you, but we must be off," Aang thanked his hosts. "We're sorry- we've bothered you enough already."  
"Yeah, the house does seem a tad small as it is…" Sokka's ranting was interrupted by a sharp wood splinter in his right foot. As he struggled not to howl in pain, he could only think of murdering that damn Earthbender.

"No, serving the Earth King and the Avatar and their friends- it is of the highest honor!" the girl, whose name was Song, assured with a deep bow. Sokka twitched. He did not much appreciate being written off as "and friends".

"And Avatar, please do not worry about me, me and Bosco will be fine in the hands of this young lady and her mother. Isn't that right, Bosco?"

**GRUNT**

"Yip, yip!" Appa soared through the air, which was really an unnecessary waste of energy, as the gang had no idea where to go. "If King Bumi wants to wait for the right time to attack, now would be good!" Sokka grunted. Katara shook her head. "With the invasion of Ba Sing Se, who knows what kind of captivity the Fire Nation has placed on him?"

"Yeah, we're going to have to leave Bumi out of this one." Aang mused. Momo squeaked at him, as if to ask, "Well, then, what are we going to do?"

* * *

Zuko tiptoed away from the palace as he was so accustomed to doing. "What am I doing? Azula knows that I'm going!" he reminded himself, and placed his feet firmly on the ground. "Now, to rescue uncle…."

* * *

**A/N: A cliffie! Well I'm feeling extremely bored today, so I will update! Like, now!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Oath

**A/N: OK. So I lied. I didn't update yesterday. But to make u for it, I made this chappie a nice, long one. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Airbender or any affiliated characters. I am not gaining any sort of monetary profit from this in any way, shape, or form. If I did have that happy right, I would be sure to let fans know about DATES and when SEASONS come out. hint hint hint**

* * *

Toph suddenly let out a yelp of surprise. "What is wrong with you people! We're just sitting around, moping, when we're supposed to be finding Iroh and Sokka's girlfriend!" 

"Right! Appa, move to the underground cave!" Appa gave a grunt of agreement as he soared towards the crystal cave. This man had once let him free. Now it was Appa's turn to do something for him.

To their surprise, the Gang found no Dai Li agents in sight surrounding the opening of the cave. "In fact, I don't even know if they're underground," Toph mused after a moment's pause. She promptly opened up the cave, with Aang and Katara leading the Gang downwards.

"Iroh?" Aang asked, and it echoed throughout the cave. Silence. "Where are you?" Still silence. Then, seemingly out of nowhere came a small burst of light, which revealed two shadowy figures. Everyone huddled together, except of course, Toph, who knew exactly who they were. "What are YOU doing here, Zuko?"

* * *

Zuko sighed. He knew that he could never truly be trusted among the Avatar and his friends. "And why should they?" He thought to himself. After all, even with Iroh's explanation, it did seem kind of….strange. 

"I told you, my nephew is a good man! He never truly joined forces with Azula; he was just playing the double agent!"

The Gang looked at Toph, waiting for her analysis of this explanation. She shrugged. "He's not lying, I can tell ya that much." Toph looked straight into Zuko's face, which scared him for a second, until he remembered that she was blind. "What happened to those Dai Li agents?"

Zuko scoffed. "Please. They had probably left the minute the Avatar and the waterbender fled. Those cowards."

Iroh smirked slightly. "Actually, my impression of a senile old man probably did the trick. 'What's going on? Where did Li go? Are you his brother-in-law? Tell me, how is your great-aunt Mina doing…..?' Yes, they did flee from that place prett-y quickly."

Katara eyed Zuko suspiciously. "Well, what were you doing when me and Aang almost died in here? Certainly not trying to help us."

Zuko's pale face flushed a little. "I was counting on the Avatar State that time."

Sokka groaned. "You actually like the glowey eyes and the swirly air and the creepiness of the situation?! Yup, that's fire nation for ya I guess."

The Fire lord's son growled, ready to pounce on Sokka much like the way a cat would kill a rat, but Iroh was there to control the situation. "We appreciate that we caused trouble to you, and we understand your suspicion. However, we are asking you to put aside that mistrust not for our sakes, but for the fate of the world."

Katara was inclined to agree. "We're not going to get anywhere if we keep bickering like this. Now is the time to work together, not break apart."

* * *

"Let's form a pact," Aang suggested. "Sokka, you be our witness." Although groaning inwardly at this formality, Sokka obeyed and watched as Aang, Katara, Toph and Zuko formed a circle. Iroh conducted the brief ceremony. 

"All of you, repeat after me:

Water and Fire, Earth and Air,

On these which are holy do we swear,

Of trust and hope shall we never forget,

This pact, by the elements, we beget."

The four repeated the chant, and, on Iroh's command, shot the designated mark on the ground at precisely the same moment. "Stand back!" the old man shouted.

Even as he said this, a glow formed from above the spot which Iroh had marked. A prism of light appeared, as if sent down from the sky, and then, vanished as suddenly as it had arrived.

In its place was an orb, small enough to hold with one hand. "Where have I seen this before…..?" Aang wondered, as the others gathered around it and gazed at its beauty. Well, all except Toph, who marveled at its strange vibrations- so rich, yet so soothing….

"What..is…it..?" Katara gained enough courage to ask…

* * *

**A/N: ANOTHER CLIFFIE! On to the next chapter….**


	4. Chapter 4: Trust and Betrayal

**A/N: I am dedicating this chapter to the great Keiio-Sama, whose fanfic "Epic Tales of Preschool Days" never fails to bring a smile to my face! Love you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Airbender or any affiliated characters. I am not gaining any sort of monetary profit from this in any way, shape, or form. If I did have that happy right, I would be sure to let fans know about DATES and when SEASONS come out. hint hint hint**

* * *

Iroh smiled yet again. "It is a trick I had learned years ago, from some ancient book. I always wished that I had one of each kind of bender as a friend, just to witness the spectacle…" He glanced over at Aang. "But there were no Airbenders to perform this task." 

He continued. "This is actually a special type of pact, known as 'The Pact of the Avatar'. This is because it represents each of the four elements." He picked up the orb and cradled it in his hands. "This is a representation of the orb that the Avatar Spirit is renowned to carry." With this, Aang let out a small gasp. He knew where he had seen this before…

It was just as he had completed the last step of mastering the Avatar State. He saw the spirit- rather, his spirit- clutching a very similar looking orb. At first, he had thought it was the world, but he knew better now. "Well, hasn't this day been full of surprises?"

Aang was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost missed what Iroh was rambling on about- "…only thing left for him is to master Fire. It almost goes without saying, that I am to teach him."

Sokka burst out laughing upon hearing this. "That's all fine and well, but do you really think that you can teach Aang firebending- smack dab in the middle of Ba Sing Se? Sorry, Iroh, but are you out of your ever-lovin' mind?

Zuko looked over at his uncle as if to ask, "Should I kill him, or should I let you do the honors?" With a wave of his hand, Iroh dismissed both thoughts. "I have thought long and hard about this. It's time to revisit some old friends." He looked over at the Gang plus Zuko before asking, "Who here knows how to play Pai Sho?"

* * *

_A/N: A couple of days later. Azula has gone back to the fire nation for a short stay. Zuko has assured her that the palace will be fine while under his control._

"Her highness, Princess Azula of the Sozin Dynasty, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lordess Ursa, mistress of Ba Sing Se, and founder of New Ozai, has arrived!"

Azula smirked as her extended title was announced to the Fire Nation. "Zuzu is still the same old idiot," she thought to herself. "He thinks he is being honored, being allowed the palace at Ba Sing Se for an entire two weeks! Of course, I know better. I know which one of us will be the heir apparent to the Earth and which one of us will be rotting in a prison cell on the outskirts of the Earth kingdom."

She gazed lovingly at her father, who was seated on his throne, as always. "My dear father, my cunning father, how I wait for the day you disown that dog-of-a-son of yours, and place me on the throne instead." These were thoughts that she dared not voice aloud, for her father's ministers were seated in the hall.

"My beloved ministers, I am gladdened to see the enthusiasm you had for greeting my two children. However, I deeply regret to announce that my son, Zuko, had other responsibilities he had to attend to at Ba Sing Se. Only my daughter, Azula was able to come."

As a murmur went through the vast number of ministers, Azula smirked inwardly. "Please. They are mere vultures, kissing my father's feet and tending to his every command until the day he dies, which is when they expect great riches to come." Having viewed her father's will personally, Azula knew that this was far from the truth. "Aren't they in for a shock."

"…As a result, it is with great humility with which I beseech you to please, leave my beloved daughter and I a few minutes alone together."

A wave of bows appeared before the Fire Lord, and then, they all vanished.

"This is it! The time has arrived! My father will speak the words which I have long awaited to hear…"

"Azula." Ozai's words were as cold as the South Pole itself. "You have done well in your mission. You have completed every task asked of you and more. You have brought your brother back to our side, captured that traitor of an uncle, defeated the Avatar, and invaded the capital city of the Earth Kingdom- Ba Sing Se…"

"This must be how it feels for girls right before their fathers give them a New Years present…" Azula thought to herself.

"And now, you are of no more use to me. Good-bye, Azula. You may do as you please. Your exile, as well as your brother's, shall be announced in the morning. You have until then to gather your belongings and leave the Fire Capital."

For the first time in her life, the fire lord's daughter was speechless. "Father…I…don't understand…"

Ozai smirked. "Is that so? You remind me of that idiot of a brother of yours, begging for mercy like the coward he is. You are dismissed."

Still shocked, Azula went upstairs, to her room in which she had spent so many nights. It was strange to think that this would be her last. "I did…everything for you…" were her last thoughts as she collapsed into a heap on her bed.

* * *

**A/N: Mwahahaha!! Another twist! Another cliffy! Let me watch you beg in mercy as you beg me to put up the next chapter:-D**


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